This application claims the priority of German application 197 11 379.6, filed Mar. 19, 1997, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a vehicle, especially an automobile with front and rear seats secured to the floor, with a ventilation shaft guided lengthwise between the front seats on the vehicle floor, said shaft, for ventilating the foot area of the front seats, being connected to an air-conditioning system of the vehicle, and with a console displaceable lengthwise in the manner of a carriage on the ventilation shaft, said console having an air duct formed in its bottom area, said duct being connected with the ventilation shaft through at least one air outlet opening provided in its shaft wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,356,409 discloses a vehicle in which the air duct formed in the floor area of the console is delimited at its underside extending over the console by the top of the ventilation shaft and sealed by nylon strips pressing against the ventilation shaft and the lower edge of the console. The air duct can be connected with the ventilation shaft by a valve located in the shaft wall of the ventilation shaft. From the air duct, air can pass through a plurality of openings into a narrow side chamber formed on the side wall of the console and flow from there through slots out into the interior of the console. The interior of the console that serves as a container for foods and beverages can be kept at a desired temperature by the air flowing through the interior. The temperature is adjusted at the entrance to the ventilation shaft by suitable conditioning of the air. The displaceability of the console along the ventilation shaft has the advantage that the console can be shifted into positions in which it can be conveniently accessed from both the front and rear seats. In addition, the console can be slid out of the space between the front seats so that it is possible to switch from one seat to the other without getting out of the vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle with a console displaceable lengthwise and located between the front seats, whereby this console can additionally be used to optimally supply the rear-seat passengers with air that can be conditioned to their wishes, in other words to supply fresh air and/or warm or cool air.
The foregoing object has been achieved in the vehicle of the present invention by providing that air duct terminates freely at the end of console that faces rear seat, in that means are provided for optional complete or partial closure of duct opening, in that a plurality of air outlet openings is provided in the shaft wall of ventilation shaft, said openings being located one behind the other within the displacement range of console in the displacement direction, and each of said openings being provided with a closing element and in that a control mechanism is operative between console and closing elements, said mechanism keeping the air outlet openings located outside the overlapping area of console closed and keeping open at least one of the air outlet openings located within the overlapping area of console.
The vehicle according to the present invention has the significant advantage that a passenger in the rear seat can be supplied with fresh air or air-conditioned air adapted to her individual needs. This improves her sense of well-being, resulting in a qualitative gain in comfort. The control mechanism provided for coupling the air duct that is displaceable together with the console on the ventilation shaft in the various displacement positions of the console can be achieved in very different ways. For example, the closing elements can be actuated pneumatically, electrically, or electromagnetically. In addition, mechanical control elements such as a slot guide, pusher, springs, or the like can be used to actuate the closing elements.
According to a currently preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ventilation shaft is configured as a twin shaft with warm and cool air shafts extending parallel to one another. The air duct located in the floor area of the console is configured as a twin duct with warm and cool air ducts running parallel to one another, and the air outlet openings with closing elements are provided separately for connecting, on one hand, the warm air shaft and the warm air duct and, on the other hand, for connecting the cool air shaft and the cool air duct.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a mixing chamber is located in front of the duct opening of the air duct, closable by control flaps, at one end of the console, in which chamber the warm and cool air ducts terminate. The air flow flowing out of the warm air and cool air ducts into the mixing chamber is metered, and the rear seat passenger has the opportunity to adjust the temperature individually in the rear independently of the temperature in front of the front seats.